Modification of one man life raft

ABSTRACT

A life raft, preferably of the one-man inflatable type wherein an inflatable tube perimetrically bounds an occupant receiving space having a flexible floor member, includes a zippered opening in the floor to be used for entry, thus avoiding the necessity of climbing over the peripheral tube, and facilitating the use of a constant diameter tube as opposed to conventional tubes tapered at one end to facilitate boarding over the side. An airtight fabric bulkhead divides the peripheral tube longitudinally into two inflatable tube sections, whereby if either tube section were punctured, the bulkhead would move into the punctured section to substitute for the punctured wall portion and maintain the inflatable volume of the tube. The floor member is preferably attached to the central portion of the tube wall so that either side of the raft can be the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;up&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; side.

United States Patent [191 Soter [4 1 Jan. 1,1974

1 1 MODIFICATION OF ONE MAN LIFE RAFT [75] Inventor: Ernest J. Soter,Newport News, Va.

[22] Filed: Oct. 29, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 193,672

Germany 9/11 France 9/1 1 France 9/1 1 Primary Examiner-George E. A.Halvosa Assistant ExaminerGregory W. OConnor Att0rney--Howard J. Osbornet a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A life raft, preferably of the one-man inflatable typewherein an inflatable tube perimetrically bounds an occupant receivingspace having a flexible floor member, includes a zippered opening in thefloor to be used for entry, thus avoiding the necessity of climbing overthe peripheral tube, and facilitating the use of a constant diametertube as opposed to conventional tubes tapered at one end to facilitateboarding over the side. An airtight fabric bulkhead divides theperipheral tube longitudinally into two inflatable tube sections,whereby if either tube section were punctured, the bulkhead would moveinto the punctured section to substitute for the punctured wall portionand maintain the inflatable volume of the tube. The floor member ispreferably attached to the central portion of the tube wall so thateither side of the raft can be the up" side.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAN I i874 FIG. 1

M a z FIG. 2

INVENTOR. ERNEST d. SOTER ,gvw i ATTORNEY MODIFICATION OF ONE MAN LIFERAFT The invention described herein was made by an employee of theUnited States Government and may be manufactured and used by or for theGovernment for governmental purposes without the payment of anyroyalties thereon or therefor.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to life rafts, preferablyof the one-man inflatable type, and particularly to such rafts having animproved boarding feature and/or an improved arrangement for maintaininginflatability and flotation after a puncture of the main wall of theinflatable portion.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Basically, the object of thisinvention is to improve existing life rafts, particularly of the one-maninflatable type, so as to make them more dependable, simpler to use, andof simpler and more economical construction.

The conventional one-man inflatable life raft comprises an inflatabletube configured in the form of a closed loop such that, when inflated,the tube perimetrically bounds an occupant receiving space floored by afloor member of flexible material connected with the inflatable tube.The raft is boarded from the water by climbing over the inflated tube,and the tube commonly is tapered in diameter toward one end so as tofacilitate boarding at that end. This tapered arrangement contributes tocomplexity of construction, and hence increased cost of manufacture, asopposed to a raft utilizing a constant diameter tube, but thesedisadvantages have been endured because of the easier boarding featureafforded by the tapered tube. Also, the floor member of such rafts oftenis attached tangentially to the tube, that is, to the extreme lowerpoints of the tube, such that there is a definite top and bottom to theraft, thus causing the raft to have a restrictive this side up" feature.Finally, it is perhaps conventional to subdivide the inflatable tubeinto separately inflatable, longitudinally adjacent sections such thatflotation ofa reduced degree is maintained after puncture of less thanall the sections. In a somewhat analogous arrangement, such as shown inU.S. Pat. No. 3,105,98l, separate upper and lower tubes are used. U.S.Pat. No. 3,072,930 discloses a different analogous arrangement ofmultiple tubes or tube sections.

An improved life raft in accordance with the instant invention includesa selectively openable and closable boarding opening in the floormember, whereby a downed pilot can board simply by pushing himself upthrough the floor opening, and, once aboard, the opening can be closed.This not only eliminates having to board by scrambling over the inflatedtube, but it also eliminates the need for a special boarding area suchas is provided by a tapered tube construction. By facilitating the useof a constant diameter tube, simplicity and economy of construction areinherently facilitated. In accordance with a further feature of theinvention, the tube is divided longitudinally into laterally adjacentseparately inflatable tube sections by a fabric bulkhead so located anddimensioned that it can move against either outer wall of the tube tosubstitute for that wall after a puncture, thus maintaining theinflatable volume of the tube. In the preferred embodiment, the

- bulkhead divides the tube into two equal tube sections as viewed inlateral cross-section, and the extendable width of the bulkhead betweenits edge connections thus preferably is equal to one-half the tubecircumference. In accordance with a further feature, although not anessential one, of the improved life raft, the floor member is attachedat the mid-point or largest diameter of the tube rather than across thebottom, whereby to facilitate use with either side up.

Other and further advantages and features of the improved raft will beapparent from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment taken inconjunction with the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view, generallyschematic, of a life raft in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation view taken generally along thelongitudinal axis of the raft shown in FIG. 1, and illustratingexemplary normal and post-puncture positions of the fabric bulkhead.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, theraft in its preferred form is fabricated from conventional waterprooffabric, such as rubberized nylon, and comprises an inflatable loop-formtibe l bounding an occupant receiving space. A flexible floor member 2is connected to the tube preferably at its cross-sectional mid-point orpoint of largest diameter, and spans the occupant receiving space. Azippered access opening 3 (the zipper being operable from either side)is provided in floor member 2, extending in a beam-wise direction acrosssubstantially the entire floor, but optionally extendable longitudinalfor approximately one-half the floor length. The tube preferably is ofconstant diameter. An air-tight fabric bulkhead 4 divides the tube 1longitudinally into separately inflatable tube sections 6 and 7, and inthe illustrated version the width (considered vertically) of the fabricbulkhead is equal to one-half the circumference of the tube. Thus, whenone side or the other of the tube is punctured, the bulkhead will simplyblow out or in from its normal position (shown in solid lines in FIG. 2)to bear against and replace the punctured tube wall, and maintain theinflatable volume of the tube, as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 2.

To facilitate separate inflation of tube sections 6 and 7, separateinflation tubes extend thereto from a simple selector valve 5 in themain inflation tube.

Various modifications of the illustrated embodiment may be made withinthe spirit and scope of the invention, the characteristic features ofwhich are as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An inflatable life raft comprising an inflatable tube having a crosssection defining at least an inner are configured in the form of aclosed loop such that when inflated the tube perimetrically bounds anoccupant receiving space, a floor member of flexible material connectedwith said inflatable tube continuously along a line correspondingsubstantially to the mid-point of the inner arc of the tube wheninflated and forming a floor for said occupant receiving space, saidoccupant receiving space being defined on either side of said floormember and means forming a selectively openable and closable accessoperable from either side of said floor members in said floor member ofa size sufficiently large to readily pass a human body whereby to permitboarding said raft through said access opening in said floor memberrather than over the inflated tube.

2. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means comprises an access opening in said floor member, andmanually operable fastening means for opening and closing said accessopening.

3. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means comprises a zippered opening in said floor member.

4. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inflatabletube, in cross section, is of substantially constant diameter at allpoints along said closed loop.

5. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 4 wherein said floormember, at each point of connection is connected to said inflatable tubesubstantially at the midpoint of the inner arc of the tube wall wheninflated.

6. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising anair-tight bulkhead of flexible material inside said inflatable tube,extending along the length thereof, in a closed loop configuration andconnected at its longitudinal edges to the inner wall of said tube so asto divide the tube into two inflatable tube sections, each of which isconfigured in the form of a closed loop, whereby a loss of air-tightintegrity in one section does not affect the air tightness of the othersection.

7. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 6 wherein thelongitudinal edges of said bulkhead are connected to the inner walls ofsaid tube along lines spaced circumferentially from each other bysubstantially onehalf the circumference of the tube at any particulararea of connection so as to divide the tube equally circumferentially,and wherein the width of said bulkhead between its longitudinal edges atany point along said closed loop is substantially equal to one-half thetube circumference at that point.

1. An inflatable life raft comprising an inflatable tube having a crosssection defining at least an inner arc configured in the form of aclosed loop such that when inflated the tube perimetrically bounds anoccupant receiving space, a floor member of flexible material connectedwith said inflatable tube continuously along a line correspondingsubstantially to the midpoint of the inner arc of the tube when inflatedand forming a floor for said occupant receiving space, said occupantreceiving space being defined on either side of said floor member andmeans forming a selectively openable and closable access operable fromeither side of said floor members in said floor member of a sizesufficiently large to readily pass a human body whereby to permitboarding said raft through said access opening in said floor memberrather than over the inflated tube.
 2. An inflatable life raft asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means comprises an accessopening in said floor member, and manually operable fastening means foropening and closing said access opening.
 3. An inflatable life raft asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means comprises azippered opening in said floor member.
 4. An inflatable life raft asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said inflatable tube, in cross section, is ofsubstantially constant diameter at all points along said closed loop. 5.An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 4 wherein said floor member,at each point of connection is connected to said inflatable tubesubstantially at the mid-point of the inner arc of the tube wall wheninflated.
 6. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 5 furthercomprising an air-tight bulkhead of flexible material inside saidinflatable tube, extending along the length thereof, in a closed loopconfiguration and connected at its longitudinal edges to the inner wallof said tube so as to divide the tube into two inflatable tube sections,each of which is configured in the form of a closed loop, whereby a lossof air-tight integrity in one section does not affect the air tightnessof the other section.
 7. An inflatable life raft as claimed in claim 6wherein the longitudinal edges of said bulkhead are connected to theinner walls of said tube along lines spaced circumferentially from eachother by substantially one-half the circumference of the tube at anyparticular area of connection so as to divide the tube equallycircumferentially, and wherein the width of said bulkhead between itslongitudinal edges at any point along said closed loop is substantiallyequal to one-half the tube circumference at that point.